Reticulate evolution, or network evolution is the origination of a lineage through the partial merging of two ancestor lineages, leading to relationships better described by a phylogenetic network than a bifurcating tree. Reticulate patterns can be found in the phylogenetic reconstructions of biodiversity lineages obtained by comparing the characteristics of organisms. Reticulation processes can potentially be convergent and divergent at the same time. Reticulate evolution indicates the lack of independence between two evolutionary lineages. Reticulation affects survival, fitness and speciation rates of species. Reticulate evolution can happen between lineages separated only for a short time, for example through hybrid speciation in a species complex. Nevertheless, it also takes place over larger evolutionary distances, as exemplified by the presence of organelles of bacterial origin in eukaryotic cells. Reticulation occurs at various levels: at a chromosomal level, meiotic recombination causes evolution to be reticulate; at a species level, reticulation arises through hybrid speciation and horizontal gene transfer; and at a population level, sexual recombination causes reticulation. The adjective reticulate stems from the Latin words reticulatus, "having a net-like pattern" from reticulum, "little net." Source: Wikipedia (en)